Introduction to a Waltz
by Pookie2
Summary: A flashback taking place during the events of Companions.  The Courier's early adventures with Boone.  Part 4 of the "All the Things You Are" storyline.  Rated for Violence, Language and minor innuendo.
1. Sold American

"This isn't going to end well…"

Layla stood facing Novac's night-shift sniper, her mind in overdrive. She'd traveled alone in the Mojave and beyond for years; there was no reason for her to pick up a companion. In fact, the guy seemed a little cracked, making it a terrible idea to trust him on the road. But she'd seen past his gruff exterior as he read the bill of sale she'd found in Jeanie May's safe. Anguish radiated from him as folded the note detailing the sale of his wife and unborn child to Caesar's Legion.

And now Layla had asked him to come with her. The guy who she'd just met. The guy who had just popped Jeannie May's head off without seeing the proof first. The guy who just told her it was a bad idea himself. The guy who was completely alone with only the thought of what had happened to his family to keep him company.

She must have been contemplating too long; she could see the sniper's eyebrow start to rise as he continued staring at her. Thinking a moment longer, she decided she'd have to give him a snappy line to sooth any doubts he had.

"You got any better plans?" Layla kept her wince to herself as the man frowned further.

"Fine. Let's get out of here," Boone growled after a moment, gathering his things from the mouth of the dinosaur. They met outside the gate of the motel a few minutes later. Without so much as a word between them, the two started away from the town. They didn't make it very far before a voice stopped them.

"Hey there, little lady!"

The Courier turned, grinning widely.

"Victor! What are you doing all the way out here?" She regarded the robot cowboy for a moment. Then closed an eye and tilted her head slightly. "Are you following me?" she said with mock accusation, still smiling.

"I'm on my way to New Vegas. I reckon you are too, huh?" Victor said. Layla nodded. "Well, I figure we'll see each other from time-to-time then. Who's your friend?"

Frowning, Layla suddenly started when she remembered Boone was with her. She turned to find the man staring at her and the securitron, eyebrow raised again.

"This is Boone." The Courier nodded to the sniper. She turned to fully face him. "Boone, this is Victor, my robot guardian angel."

"Aw, yer gonna make me blush," Victor said. He turned to Boone. "Now you treat that little lady right. My friends and I will be keeping an eye on you."

Laughing, Layla waved him off. "Now now, don't worry, we'll be fine. I guess I'll see you in Vegas."

"If not sooner. Take care now." With that, he rolled off. Layla smiled after him as he disappeared over a hill, then glanced back at Boone, who was still giving her a weird look. Layla shot him a grin in response and continued down the road. As they walked, she could feel eyes on the back of her head.

"You're face is gonna freeze if you keep that eyebrow up," Layla said, not bothering to look at the sniper.

"Your robot threatened me."

The Courier let out a laugh.

"He's just being protective, and he's not mine. He just helped me out a few times."

"What happened?"

Biting her lip, Layla wondered briefly how much she should tell her new companion. She was pretty sure she hadn't suffered any brain damage from the two bullets Benny had put in her head… but she wasn't certain. It probably would just make things more complicated anyway.

"I ran into some trouble with a guy from the Strip and a few Great Khans. Victor got me out of it." Looking over her shoulder, she noticed Boone seemed a little agitated.

"Do you know any Bennys? Especially ones in checkered suits?" she asked.

"No."

Silence followed, and Layla again wondered what she was doing by having Boone tag along. She decided to analyze it during the slightly tense silence that followed. If she had to pinpoint why a complete stranger with a high-caliber rifle was following a few yards behind her, it would be sympathy. Well, sympathy mixed with concern. He'd just gotten finished losing everything, and Layla knew he had to be close to a breaking point. What kind, she wasn't sure, but she didn't want to let him find out.

There was something else to him though, something that made her like him. She couldn't put her finger on it yet, but she felt she always had good instincts when it came to people. Either way, she broke the silence, curious about the sullen man.

"So, tell me about yourself." She thought she heard a disgruntled sigh, but she might have imagined it.

"Not really my thing."

She ignored his weak attempt to deflect her questions. "How did you end up in Novac? Did you meet your wife around here?"

There was no answer, and the Courier looked back his way. She realized a little too late that his dead wife might not have been the best thing to talk about. He clearly hadn't given her all the details of what had happened, but Layla had a pressing feeling something was troubling him more than the rest. Deciding to be bold, she figured they'd just cut to the heart of the matter.

"What aren't you telling me about your wife?"

The man stiffened, gaze snapping in her direction.

"Carla's dead, and that's all you need to know."

Red creeped up her neck as Layla turned back to the road. That was stupid. Very stupid. They walked in a much less pleasant silence for a time. Eventually the girl decided on another line of questioning, not willing to give up on getting to know her new sniper.

"Manny told me you guys were in 1st Recon?" She mentioned Novac's other sniper with disdain. She hoped he didn't take offense to tone, but he didn't seem too happy with the man anyway. She'd liked Manny when they first met, but when the subject of Boone, or more importantly Boone's wife, had come up, he opinion of him had started to sour. The sniper seemed nonplussed at her negative regard to Manny as he answered.

"Sniper Battalion. We scouted and took out key targets."

Layla looked his way as they continued walking.

"Is that a 1st Recon beret? I've never seen red NCR berets before."

"Yeah."

She saw his eyebrow raise as she started grinning. She'd remembered the horrific tan line on the top of his head.

"You ever take it off?"

"No."

Layla laughed a little. "So, what kind of action did you and 1st Recon see?" She suddenly remembered what Manny had said about that Khan settlement. "Were you at Bitter Springs?"

The air suddenly grew colder as Layla felt the brittle silence fall over them. Looking back again, she found Boone staring straight ahead. The Courier bit her lip.

"Were you?" She should have bit harder. _Stupid, dumb idiot._

"That part of my life is over, and so is this conversation."

Layla was glad she was in front of the man, facing away from him while they walked. She could feel her cheeks burning now. No more questions for now. The tension was getting unbearable. Just as Layla felt like she was going to snap, she saw a man running their way.

That wasn't so weird; people ran all over the Mojave. What was odd was that he seemed to be running straight for Layla. She put her hand on her gun and heard Boone ready his rifle. The man came to a stop a few feet from them and started talking before she could say anything.

"Hey, wanna trade?"

The Courier gave him an incredulous look, and the man sighed.

"All right, lying just isn't in my nature. My name is Malcolm Holmes, and I've been following you."

The man suddenly looked nervous. Layla didn't understand at first; she had actually recoiled a step at his remark, worried he was about to spring a trap. It took her a moment to realize that he was reacting to Boone. She glanced over her shoulder and found him glaring eye lasers at the man, gun half-raised in his direction. The guy couldn't be stupid enough to waltz up to them, introduce himself, and start shooting, and that realization made Layla curious.

"Why were you following me?"

Holmes turned his attention back to Layla, still darting a look over her shoulder periodically.

"I… saw you pick up a bottle cap with a star on it. You didn't seem to react to it; do you know what they are?" He must have guessed what the girl's blank stare meant and continued. "Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Caps supposedly unlock an old world treasure. Nobody knows what it is, but people are willing to kill for them."

"Treasure?" That got her attention. "What kind of treasure?"

The man shrugged.

"No one knows for sure. It must have been worth something, at least in the old world. But they say Festus guards the treasure. He's supposed to be old, pre-war old, but people swear to me they've met him."

This was an odd thing to randomly start talking about to strangers. She looked at the man again, still confused. "So, do you collect star caps?"

"No, not anymore. Too dangerous. I just wanted to warn you. If you keep looking for them, look out for a man named Allen Marks. They say he'll kill anyone if they have star caps."

"Oh. Well, thanks?"

The trader wave off her thanks.

"Just be careful; there are some strange people out there." With that, the man turned and started walking away. Layla stared after him, blinking. After a few moments, she heard Boone sling his rifle on his back.

"Does this kind of thing happen to you often?" he asked. She heard the lightest touch of amusement in his voice and turned to him.

"Random strangers running up to me to tell me about magic bottle caps that lead to treasures with two-hundred-year-old guardians and that people are willing to kill for? No. That one doesn't come up so much."

He was giving her a fraction of a grin, and Layla was relieved the earlier tension was gone. Her hopes were almost dashed when the man suddenly frowned at her.

"Where are we going?"

Nearly laughing, the girl realized they'd been walking for more than an hour, and he hadn't been informed of the plan.

"I know where there's a Legion raiding camp. We might be able to save some captives." The sniper nodded, and they traveled the rest of the way in silence, though it was a much more tolerable, tension-free quiet.

*.*.*

There was a guy wearing a feathered headdress barking orders at the other Legionaries as Layla and Boone overlooked the camp. It didn't matter how much these creeps freaked her out, they sure wore bizarre clothing. There were five of them at the camp, way more Legionaries than Layla would have ever dreamed of taking on her own. She had thought about calling the whole thing off, but she could see two bound Powder Gangers, both looking bruised and miserable.

Just when she had nearly formed a plan, she heard an ear-splitting crack and saw one of the Legionaries crumble to the ground. Eyes wide, she turned and found the sniper lining up another shot.

"Warn a girl next time!" she hissed as she drew her 10mm and started firing as the armed group scrambled to respond. Soon bullets were embedding themselves into the dirt around them, and the Courier got the feeling she was in over her head.

The guy with the feather hat went flying from a round shot by Boone. Layla had to amend her last thought as she managed to down one; maybe she wasn't over her head. By the time she had taken out her target, Boone had finished off the remaining men. She hoped the sniper hadn't noticed she wasn't so hot a shot. Standing, she made her way over to the captives while Boone started searching the fallen Legionaries.

Both men looked relieved as the Courier approached. Their relief seemed short-lived, however, as they recognized her. Without a word, she pulled the knife from one of her pockets and cut the ropes from their hands.

"What the fuck do you want?" the first Powder Ganger snarled as Layla cut the other one free. She put her hands on her hips.

"A little gratitude would be nice," she said, putting her knife away. "And learn some manners while you're at it." She gave the two former captives a sneer. "Get the hell out of here." Both Powder Gangers scurried off without another word. Layla snorted.

"Pack of ingrates…" She eyed the feathered hat the one guy had been wearing and walked up to it with a grin. Picking it up, she turned to see how Boone was doing checking the bodies and found him looking at her.

"What was that about?" He nodded toward the retreating gang members.

"Oh, that. They're Powder Gangers. I kinda messed up a few of their plans. And kicked them out of a town they were trying to take over. And killed their leader." She saw his mildly impressed look and had to work to keep the smile off her face. His look turned into a frown suddenly.

"How long did you know about this place, about those men?"

She didn't like the tone he was using. Somewhere between suspicion and anger.

"Um… two days? Why?"

"Two days?" He didn't sound happy, and Layla looked up from the hat in her hands. "They almost got them into Legion territory. Why didn't you go after them sooner?"

Layla opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She knew the reason; Nipton's fires were still in her mind. The crucifixions and calmly explained brutality had scared the hell out of her. And she suddenly wondered if she hadn't picked up Boone in part because of what she'd seen in the burning town.

"They… I didn't think I could take them on my own. I would have gone to someone in the NCR for help, but do you really think they'd go running off to save some gang members?" She must have failed at keeping the tremor out of her voice, as Boone's expression softened just slightly. He looked away to the tents that surrounded them.

"I…" he sighed. "I'm sorry. It just pisses me off that the Legion can operate like this in NCR land. We should have secured the area better before we expanded further."

Dropping the feather hat, Layla shook away the last thoughts of Nipton from her mind. "Yeah… well, why don't we go back to Novac for the night? Head back out again in the morning."

Boone gave her a hard-to-read look before he spoke. "Okay."


	2. Doin' the Jive

He'd blown it, he knew it. Boone sat on the couch in his room, staring at the table. When they had come back from the raiding camp, Layla had barely spoken to him as they went to their separate rooms. In the morning, they were supposed to meet up again to head out, but the sniper was fairly certain she'd call it off. Women didn't tend to like it when you insinuated they were cowards, even if you hadn't meant to.

It shouldn't even bother him. It wouldn't have worked out anyway. The Courier was not very good with a gun, and he wasn't planning on having to babysit her while he went after Legionaries. And while he was sure she'd been telling the truth about going after the Legion, he knew she had other plans of her own. Some of which weren't going to interest him. He'd be better off on his own. It was better for her too. She asked too many questions anyway. A sudden knock on his door startled him, and he looked out the window. The sun had come up sometime during his musing.

"Hey Boone, you up yet? Daylight's a-wasting!" Layla's muffled voice filtered through the door.

"Hold on," Boone called back, gathering his things and ignoring the relief he felt.

*.*.*

"So…" The Courier began as they walked down the road away from Novac. "You live around here. Any thoughts on where we should head next?"

"We could go to Forlorn Hope," Boone said.

"The camp? The one with all the problems?"

He nodded, and she looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sure. Maybe they could use some help… Yeah, let's head that way. Just as soon as we go there." She pointed to the north, where they could see the outline of Helios One on the horizon.

"Why there?"

The girl shrugged. "Why not?"

Boone let out a sigh. Why did he get the feeling that reason would come up often. He saw her waiting for an answer and simply nodded. She grinned and started for the power plant. They wouldn't be allowed in anyway. The NCR held the position, and they weren't going to let two strangers go rooting around a heavily guarded power plant.

An annoyed-looking lieutenant glared at them as they approached the front door.

"What do you want?"

Yeah, they'd be on their way to Forlorn Hope before the sun got overhead, Boone thought. He glanced to Layla, who was looking thoughtfully at the building.

"You're power output's way too low for a facility of this size and capacity. I thought you might need some help?"

Both the NCR officer and Boone gave the girl a surprised look. The lieutenant recovered first.

"We've already got a scientist on it…" She sounded unsure for a moment, then shrugged. "What the hell, that moron's so incompetent, even if you were a saboteur you couldn't make things any worse. Go on in. Look for the idiot with the sunglasses on."

"Right, let's go find the idiot." The Courier smiled, looking back to make sure Boone was following her. She grinned further at his bewildered look.

*.*.*

"I've got the NCR suckling at my teats, and it feels so good." Fantastic gave the Courier an overly wide grin. The girl was staring at the 'scientist' in wide-eyed horror and disbelief. She recovered quickly and smiled. Boone could tell it was slightly forced.

"Well… all right, so why don't I take a look at the relays and see if we can't get everything realigned?"

"Yeah, good luck with that. I'm going to see what that red button does."

Boone followed Layla as she wandered into the next room. She nearly knocked into another scientist, still trying to shake off the trauma of meeting Fantastic.

"Oh! Sorry." Blushing, she put on a smile. "Are you, uh… working with Fantastic?" The effort she was putting into being polite was fairly noticeable, and the other scientist smiled, amused.

"That is one way to put it. What brings you here?"

"Scientific interest, mostly," she said simply.

"We have that in common. Who do you work with?" Boone definitely didn't like this line of questioning. There were many factions in the Mojave, and most of them didn't get along. He was almost certain this man didn't work for the NCR.

"We're on your turf…" Layla said. "It could be dangerous to tell you our allegiance without knowing yours."

Boone stifled a smile. It was nice to know he wasn't traveling with an idiot. The scientist gave her a knowing smile before answering.

"I'm Ignacio Rivas. I'm with the Followers of the Apocalypse."

"Ah." Layla smiled. "Well, I'm Layla, he's Boone." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder in the sniper's direction. "We're independent contractors."

Ignacio smiled further. "Do you know of the Followers? We look to spread knowledge and make sure no one forgets the mistakes of the past."

"I've heard of you." The girl looked around thoughtfully. "What's a Follower doing at an NCR power plant?"

"This place is more than that, and far more dangerous than anyone suspects." Layla motioned for him to continue. "The technology here is beyond what even the Enclave used, and the company that built this plant was known to create weapons…"

"You think there's a weapon here?" Layla said, sounding startled.

"No, I think the plant itself might be a weapon. The power is definitely set up to be distributed to the surrounding area, but there's more to it. And in all the documentation, I find mentions of an ARCHEMEDES project. If it is a weapon, and anyone, including the NCR or Caesar's Legion get hold of it, they will use it for war."

The Courier's eyebrows furrowed as she spoke. "Why are you trusting us with this information?" The scientist smiled tightly.

"Fantastic might not have the most solid grasp on technology…" Layla snorted, and Ignacio continued. "But it's just a matter of time before he or someone else discovers something, and the NCR will use it. You might not use the weapon, so you're the only choice I have. When The Brotherhood of Steel fled the site, they laid many traps to the main power building. I'd be torn to pieces if I tried to get in."

Layla nodded, "I understand… Well, we're going to take a look and see what we can find."

"If you do redirect the power…" Ignacio said as they were leaving, "don't just send it to the thriving communities. Smaller areas need the energy as well."

The Courier nodded, continuing toward the door. Soon they were making their way through the building to the back exit. As they walked, Boone eyed the Courier, wondering what she was thinking.

"So…what are we going to do about ARCHEMEDES?" Layla said just as they were reaching the exit. She stopped and turned his way, looking at him carefully.

"If this weapon is as powerful as he says, it could help the NCR end the war…" Boone said, and the girl frowned.

"It's dangerous, too dangerous. Ignacio's right, the tech here is crazy…" Now Boone frowned. They both looked at each other for a moment, then the girl spoke.

"We're living in a mostly-dead world because the well-intentioned militaries got a hold of something powerful enough to 'end the war.' Do you want start that all over again?"

Boone sighed heavily; he understood her point. "Fine." Curious, he asked, "Are you going to spread the power to everyone?"

"Pfft, of course I am. The NCR has a whole dam to throw power where they want. The poor schlubs in the sticks can have the luxury of taking a leak with the lights on too."

Shaking his head, Boone relented, and they made their way outside.

*.*.*

"All right, stay here."

Boone raised an eyebrow at the girl as she peered around the edge of the wall in the collection tower. The sniper didn't know what she was looking at, but she took one last look before diving forward. The sniper could hear turrets and defense robots, undoubtedly left by the Brotherhood of Steel when the NCR had forced them out, power on and start shooting as the girl ducked and dodged across the hall. Reaching the door on the opposite wall, she slapped the control panel and threw herself into the room beyond. The moment she was through, she closed the door, obscuring his view of her.

A moment later, there was an explosion and a yelp, and Boone almost made a dash for the room. Before he could act, the turret powered up again, pivoting suddenly to the Mr. Gusty near the stairway and unloading on the other machine. Soon the room was filled with robotic pandemonium. Once the carnage quieted, Boone peeked around the corner and found only one robot still functioning. He quickly dispatched the robo-brain as he made his way over to the room the Courier had disappeared into.

The door slid open and he found the girl sitting on a stool, cleaning a gash on her leg.

"God damn, why is it always in the fucking shin?" She dabbed the cloth she was cleaning her leg with over the largest part of the wound and grimaced. "MOTHER FUC-" She suddenly noticed Boone and bit her lip, stopping the diatribe before it took off. After a moment, she smiled weakly at him.

"I uh, didn't see the frag mine." The sniper stared at her, waiting for further explanation. She stared back, confusion starting to cross her features. Her eyes lit up as she guessed what the problem was.

"Oh! And I reprogrammed the turrets." She gestured to the computer on the desk behind her. "Why I didn't think someone would booby-trap the area with the turret controls is beyond me. Oh well."

Boone eyed the leg as she bandaged it. "Are you okay?"

She smiled fractionally. "Yeah, just a little shrapnel, nothing imbedded. Hurt like a-" She blushed again and cleared her throat. "Painful, anyway, nothing serious."

Once she was satisfied with the bandage, she stood and gestured that they should continue. Boone watched as she poked through the remains of the robots, pulling out various components. Soon she had a pile of batteries on the floor. She looked at them for a moment.

"These things are worth a ton of caps… but they're heavy." She looked up at her companion. "Feel like carrying them?"

"Fine by me."

Layla grinned at his response and handed over all the batteries. He shoved them into his pack and slung it back on his back. The load had increased significantly, but he gave no outward sign of it.

As they continued, the girl poked her head into every room they came across, now making sure to check the floor for mines. Each room she checked included a quick scan of the junk strewn across it. Boone had spent all his adult life either in the military or working a security detail. Scavenging was new to him. He had no clue what was valuable amongst the items scattered around the facility, but Layla sorted through the rubble with a trained eye.

What he hadn't been prepared for was how long it took. Of course, he'd only be as interested in a room as long as it took to see if someone with a weapon was in it. The Courier spent the time going through every box and desk they came across, usually coming up empty, sometimes with a handful of discarded caps or ammo. Once with a particularly skimpy piece of lingerie the girl had held up against herself and asked if he thought it went with her leather armor, laughing at his reaction.

Boone was not an impatient man. Quite the opposite, he was a sniper, which meant his job was an exercise in patience. But he found himself fidgeting a little while he watched the girl sort through bits of metal as he did nothing. So he decided to check the surrounding rooms for hostiles, leaving the Courier searching a box of electronic scraps.

Walking down a hallway, he thought he heard a voice coming from the room at the end. He drew his old machete and peered around the doorway. There were six protectrons in the room, three activated, three in containment fields.

The closest of the group turned to him, bellowed a warning about unauthorized access and shot at him. Dodging, the sniper launched himself at the robot, wishing he had the room to use his rifle. His machete clanged off the hull of the machine, leaving a dent. He grimaced, jumping back as the other two robots descended on him.

Protectrons were not very impressive machines. Boone had tangled with enough Sentry Bots over the years to know there were far more dangerous guard robots in the wastes. Barely dodging another volley of laser fire, the sniper had to admit they were still effective in tight areas. He took the opportunity presented when the volley ended to swing down on the dented robot, aiming for the glass panel on its front.

As the glass shattered, he managed to move in time so one of the remaining robots shot the other. The machine that took the hit sputtered, smoking.

Just as the second robot clattered to the ground, he turned to the last, and found the three inert robots against the wall had activated. He dropped to the ground as a barrage of crossfire nearly caught him. As four sets of laser weapons turned toward him, he sprang from the ground and swung at the closest protectron's head, smashing in the casing. Sparks flew from the machine, and it walked into the wall before falling over.

As he dove away from yet another volley of lasers, he came to a stop behind one of the robots. He caught sight of its combat inhibitor and swung at it, cleaving it clean off. The robot sparked, its voice distorting as it started firing wildly. The other two robots returned fire on the frenzied machine. Once the frenzied protectron had taken down the other two, Boone caved in the robot's domed head.

Oil dripped from his machete, and Boone couldn't help but be pleased with the results; six dead robots and not a scratch on him. He wondered how Layla was faring and started for the other room, only to find the girl standing in the doorway, eyes wide and 10mm drawn.

She gaped at him for a moment, then holstered her gun. Shaking off her shock, she gave him an amused look. "Was I boring you back there?"

Boone shrugged. "Don't know much about scavenging."

"Well, I hear explosions and you're nowhere to be found. I think we need to tell each other what we're doing…"

He almost mentioned her running off and almost getting blown up by land mines, but he merely nodded. She came into the room and started pulling components out of the downed robots.

"Well, let's just make sure we're communicating. Maybe keep closer in areas with a lot of doors and hallways." She looked up with a grin. "Make sure I'm around when you take on entire rooms of kill-bots with a knife so I can see it."

"All right."

What she said made sense, and he actually felt a little better with a plan in place. Before, he'd been unsure of how to approach things. He had never traveled with an untrained civilian before. At least this civilian had a head for plans.

"Well, let's keep going. I don't think we're far from the mainframe…" She looked down at the pieces she'd ripped from the robots and smiled sweetly at him. Boone grumbled.

"I won't be able to watch your back if I can't move…"

Layla gave him a laugh and put some of the batteries in her own pack. "Complain, complain, complain, is that all you do?" She shrugged innocently at the face he gave her. "Besides, your earning your share with this. Blowing up robots is just a fringe benefit; I think you enjoy it too much to get paid for it."

Boone was caught off guard by the comment, they hadn't really talked about their arrangement. He found himself not entirely pleased with the idea of being a hired mercenary. Looking back at the Courier, he found her giving him an appraising look.

"How are we going to handle this? I don't recall hiring you…"

Boone wondered momentarily if she could read minds.

"You didn't," he responded.

The girl smiled. "Good. That makes us partners, which means we split the loot 50/50..." She trailed off as the sniper frowned at her.

"I don't need a share of the 'loot.' Just keep me supplied. Do what you want with the rest." Saving up for a rainy day wasn't exactly the frame of mind Boone had been in lately. The Courier would probably need it more, anyway. He found her giving him a look, hands on her hips.

"I'm not keeping all the extra. You've got to take a cut."

He didn't feel like arguing it and shrugged. "This is your plan. I'll follow your lead."

Going by the smile on her face, Boone couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't just made a mistake.

*.*.*

It was morning when Boone and the Courier stepped out of the Solar Collection Tower. Layla had just finished reactivating the facility's mainframe, setting the power output to the entire region. Boone had watched as she set the grid to distribute power to all the surrounding areas. The option for the ARCHEMEDES weapon had been there, but she'd left it dormant.

Now they made their way across the catwalk to the station that activated the solar array. Layla looked at the control panel and frowned. "This thing can't be activated until the sun's on it directly. We've got a bit of a wait."

Looking around, the girl sat on the stairs leading back up the way they had come. Boone glanced around as well, watchful for any more murderous robots. Satisfied after a quick look around the area, he leaned against the railing. After a few moments of silence, he could almost sense the Courier working up something to say.

"Do you agree with me about ARCHEMEDES?" she asked carefully. Frowning, Boone looked her way.

"I understand your reasons."

"Yeah? Well are you okay with it?"

"Yeah. I'm not happy about it, but you're right."

"Good. And…" She sighed heavily, as if she didn't want to continue the sentence, then looked back at him. "You're not going to tell anyone about it, right?"

Boone might have taken offense to question, if it wasn't justified. He thought for a long moment, looking out at the Mojave beyond the power plant. There was a blown out house not far from the site. It looked like a charred skeleton, which is what it was probably full of. He looked back at the Courier.

"I won't tell anyone."

"Promise?"

"… Yeah."

She brightened at his answer. Satisfied, she stretched back on the stairs and pulled a True Police Stories from her pack, flipping through it. Boone went back to surveying the area from the railing.

"Hey, Boone?"

Looking over, he found the Courier sitting up straight. He was pretty sure he was getting better at reading the girl as they spent more time together. She was about to ask him something... personal.

"What happened between you and Manny?"

He hadn't been expecting that question, and a familiar lance of pain spiked across his chest whenever he thought of his former best friend. Layla was studying him with concerned eyes. Boone sighed; he knew she had already concluded most of what was wrong between them.

"When Carla went missing, he was the first one I went to. He didn't come out and say it, but I could tell; he was glad…"

Boone hadn't noticed the look she had made at first, but he caught it for a moment; anger. She clearly bit back something she wanted to say. The anger cleared from her face and she looked back at him. There was a mix of sympathy and anxiousness on her face now.

"I know we haven't known each other very long…" She hesitated for a moment. "If you ever need to talk, about… anything, I'm here." She gave him a slight smile. "I am capable of shutting up long enough to listen to others sometimes."

Again, Boone was surprised; that wasn't an option anyone had ever really offered him. After Carla had been kidnapped, people went out of their way to avoid him for the most part. And before that…

The Courier looked at him with growing concern. Boone knew it was because he'd blown up at her the other time she'd tried to talk to him. It had been easier before; she was a stranger brazenly asking the worst possible questions. Someone who'd fade out of his life as quickly as she'd entered it. Now, however, he had the feeling he wouldn't be rid of the girl anytime soon.

That didn't mean he was going lay his soul bare to her... not now anyway. He merely nodded to her, and she seemed satisfied. Boone was surprised how relieved he was that she'd let it go for now, worried he'd say more than he wanted to.

"All righty, let's give this a shot." She broke his chain of thought as she stood, walking over to him and the control panel. "Ready?"

Nodding, Boone took a step back from the railing, watching as the Courier hit a few buttons and threw the lever. The solar panels below them moved slightly, then nothing.

"How… anticlimactic." She sounded disappointed, absently tapping a finger on the panel. "Well I guess-" Before she could finish her sentence, a blinding glare emitted from the panels, accompanied by a loud thrumming.

"HOLY SHIT!" Layla cried as the light engulfed them. Boone's vision adjusted somewhat as the humming got louder. The girl had fared worse, eyes not protected by sunglasses as his were. She took a staggered step back, and the sniper reached out and took her arm to steady her. She grabbed onto him, holding on for dear life. Soon, the light dimmed, then returned to normal.

Looking down, he found Layla blinking for a few moments before looking at him. She let out a nervous laugh.

"Oh God, I thought we set off the ARCHEMEDES by accident." She started laughing more naturally as he let her go. "Ha haaaa, ah, that was fun. Let's go let Fantastic know the great job he did."

*.*.*

"Here, take these, and know the Followers appreciate what you've done here." Iganacio said, handing Layla a couple books. Her face lit up like he'd handed her a million caps.

"Thank you!" she smiled infectiously in Boone's direction, making him smirk faintly. She looked at the heavy books in her arms and raised an eyebrow in his direction. Sighing, he held his hands out, and she deposited the books into his arms. Stowing them in his now very heavy pack, the sniper looked up to find that Ignacio had moved back to the room with the main terminal. Fantastic had wandered in, however.

"My assistant tells me the power's up! Turns out it _was _the red button. The NCR guys are thrilled, all thanks to Fantastic." Boone's looked over to Layla and saw one of her eyes twitching as she painted a smile on her face. She had agreed with the Follower that the best way to keep the weapon from being discovered was to keep Fantastic in charge. Which meant he got the credit for what they did.

"Well… thank goodness for you," the girl said in a strained voice. Fantastic took a step closer to the Courier, his smile turning lecherous.

"I can put in a good word for you for the NCR… Fantastic's little helper." Boone stifled a laugh, seeing the face the Courier made as she took a step back.

"I… uh… you… oh, Fantastic," she struggled. "You're too kind. I didn't really do anything."

"Well I could always use another assistant." He took another step closer, eyebrows waggling. "I'm sure I could teach you a lot."

Layla couldn't keep the open horror from her face this time, but Fantastic was probably reading it as delight. Looking around frantically for a way out, her eyes landed on Boone.

"I'm sorry Fantastic, you see Boone and I…" She turned a desperately pleading look at him. Holding back a sigh, he merely nodded at the 'scientist.' Fantastic took it in stride.

"I see how it is baby. Well, ditch the zero and get with the hero if you ever want something a little more… Fantastic."

"Well thanksI'llkeepthatinmind." The Courier grabbed Boone's arm and started pulling him out of the room. "Seeyoulater, bye!"

In the hallway, Layla leaned against the wall, laughing. After a few moments, she wiped the tears from her eyes and looked over to Boone.

"Thank you." She started laughing again. "I owe you."

Boone merely nodded, smirk still on his face.


	3. Moonlight Serenade

Hey folks, I hope you're enjoying things so far (Some of these reviews are going to give me a big head :3). Just want to give a little warning: this chapter has some slightly gross medical stuff. Not too bad, but I haven't really put anything like that in before. So there, you're warned. Also, I'm sorry about the occasional spotty updates, still wrestling with the site for posting.

* * *

Static kept interrupting the voice of Mr. New Vegas on Layla's Pip-Boy as she and Boone made their way to Camp Forlorn Hope. After fiddling with the machine for a moment, she grumbled and changed the station. She caught the sniper looking at her as they walked.

"You from a vault?" he asked.

"What?" She gave him an incredulous look. "Why on earth would you-" She looked down at the Pip-Boy on her arm, then laughed. "Oh yeah, that. No. The doctor in Good Springs, the one who who treated me after Victor dug me up, used to be a vault dweller. He gave it to me." Layla froze mid-step. _Big stupid damn mouth_. She looked over to Boone, who was clearly waiting for her to elaborate. She let out a sigh, deciding to come clean.

"I was heading up to The Strip for the Mojave Express, delivering a platinum chip to one of the casinos. Well, when I got to Goodsprings, Benny and his Khan lackeys got the jump on me…" She chewed her lip a moment, trying to decide how much to tell him. Sighing, she untied the knot on her head wrap. Might as well get it all out in the open now.

"He shot me, then they buried me alive." She pulled off the bandana. She had looked at the wound just this morning. It was not pretty. A little longer and she could remove the stitches and style her hair over the spot. For now… The grim look Boone gave her said it all. She tied the wrap back on. She wasn't interested in wooing the sniper, but revealing a very unattractive, borderline disgusting wound on her head hadn't been in her plans either.

Not looking at him, she cleared her throat. "Anyway, Victor dug me out and took me to Doc Mitchell, who gave me this." She indicated her Pip-Boy. "So, to answer you question: No, I'm not from a Vault." She gave him a weak smile. "Vault girls don't tend to have nasty holes in their heads, from what I hear."

"I've seen a lot worse wounds on women. You still look good, and walking away from a headshot is always a good thing."

A real smile wormed it's way across Layla's face. That was unexpectedly sweet of him. He was turning out to be full of surprises.

Opening her mouth to speak, she stopped when she caught sight of a group of people heading their way. Boone saw them as well, hand instinctively hovering near his rifle.

Layla looked over the group; they didn't seem like traveling merchants; not enough on them to sell. Possibly just a group of scavengers, maybe a group of travelers, similar to Boone and herself. They could also be Vipers or Jackals.

They hadn't fired yet, so Layla gave them the benefit of the doubt. She had met some awful nice people on the road, after all. When they got near, she saw what looked to be the leader smiling at her.

"Good morning, sweet-cheeks. Lookin' to trade?" he said.

Layla had to laugh at that, then reached for her pack.

"Sure, whatcha got?"

Still grinning, the leader gestured to another of the group, who opened the large pack he had been carrying.

"Bunch of random junk, some 10mm ammo, couple magazines," Pack-Mule said, sifting through their things. Layla's eyes lit up.

"Oooh! Ammo _and_ magazines? You guys know how to treat a girl." She dug into her pack. "We've got some extra water, mentats, a ton of fusion batteries… and sexy sleepwear."

The Courier looked up at the group, smiling. "Anything you want to swap?"

The leader frowned a moment. "Sorry, Doll, nothing we can really use." He frowned further as the girl's face twisted into a pout.

"Aw come on guys, you're killing me." She dug again in her pack. "What if I throw in a couple doses of hydra? Never know when you need to mend a broken leg, huh?" She batted her eyelashes at the leader, whose frown melted.

"All right, all right, we'll take the water and the hydra. Give her what she wants, Denver."

Layla giggled and moved over to Denver, taking a look through his items.

"Hey Boone? You want a copy of 'Salesman Weekly?'" She looked over to the sniper, who still eyed the group suspiciously. He looked less than happy now that the girl was within arm's reach of the travelers. Noticing he wasn't paying attention to what she was saying, she dug further into the pack. "How about at teddy bear?"

The sniper let out a small snort, but kept his gaze trained on the group. Layla shrugged, taking all the magazines and the 10mm ammo and tucking the bear under her arm. She handed Denver her promised items, grinning ear-to-ear.

"All right, you kids keep safe," the leader said, steering his group down the road again. Layla waved goodbye as they went, noting that Boone didn't relax until they were blurs on the horizon. He turned to her, frowning.

"If they had wanted to hurt you…" He trailed off when he saw her grinning at him.

"Nah, they were okay. When they talk trades, they're usually good."

The sniper crossed his arms over his chest.

"And if it was an act?"

"Then you'd blow their heads off, right?"

"What if I wasn't fast enough?" he said. Layla snorted at that. "Or if they took you hostage?" he continued.

"You worry too much… I think someone needs a hug." He gave her a strange look, then barked a laugh when she held out the teddy bear. Boone regained his composure and gave her a look.

"Did you manage to get anything useful for our water and hydra?"

She mock-glowered at him.

"Well _I_ got ammo for _my_ gun. And if _you_ break _your_ leg, I can just put you out of your misery."

*.*.*

"Hold on a second." Layla rummaged through her pack as they came to a billboard. Looking up, she found it was a Helios One sign, its old cracked paper peeling away. She chewed her lip as she searched through her posters, trying to decide which one to put up.

She had explained to Boone her side job; putting up NCR propaganda posters around the Mojave. She had briefly worried, thinking maybe he wouldn't want to stop whenever they found a flat surface, but he patiently waited every time she carefully adhered another poster to one of the many ruined walls they came across.

Just as she settled on a design and started digging for her paste, two men, one armed with a gun, the other with a knife, rounded the other side of the sign, stopping abruptly when they saw the Courier. Arms full of posters, Layla couldn't easily get to her gun. She glanced over to Boone, who already had his rifle in his hands.

"Hi folks. How are you today?" one of the men said. This one had a cowboy hat haphazardly tilted on his head. He smiled easily and made no move to draw his weapon on them, but something about him didn't sit right with Layla. She painted a smile on her face.

"We're just fine," she answered. How about you?" The man's grin didn't change.

"Well, we're looking for someone. You folks haven't come across a Malcolm Holmes in your travels, have you?"

"Hm…Oh! He was the guy talking about the star caps! Yeah, we did see him a few days ago." She looked over the two mercs again warily. "Why are you looking for him?"

"He's just an old friend…" He looked Layla up and down again, making her a little uncomfortable. "You two know anything about those caps?"

"Just that they don't sound worth the trouble," the Courier said, a little too quickly to be natural. She cursed herself inwardly. This guy was throwing her off. The man's grin started to fade as Boone made his way closer to Layla, his gun lowered, but pointed in the general direction of the strangers.

"If you folks have any star caps, why don't you just hand them over? Then we'll all just go on our way."

"How about you two turn right back the way you came and we'll all just acted like this never happened." Layla said, a threatening edge forming in her voice. The cowboy hat merc shrugged.

"That sounds mighty sporting," the merc said, smiling again. Layla was about to answer him when he suddenly aimed at Boone and fired, moving so fast she could barely track his movements.

"_Boone_!" Layla screamed as the sniper took the shot in the chest. He went down on one knee, and the Courier turned back to the gunman, furious. She dropped the posters, then drew and fired from her hip. The shot caught the man in the face and he crumbled to the ground. The other merc seemed to be armed with only a knife, but Layla fired on him as well. It and the subsequent shots went wild as the man ran away.

Not bothering to chase him, she turned back to her downed companion. He was pressing a hand against the wound, which Layla was relieved to see was closer to his shoulder than she'd first thought. She gently guided him to the ground and lifted his hand away from the wound. The sniper let out a groan and paled considerably as the injury was disturbed.

"Shi- crap. Boone? You with me?" The Courier knelt next to him, getting a look at the wound. Not bleeding too badly, but the bullet was definitely still in him. She pulled the knife out of her pocket and cut his shirt out of the way. Taking a deep breath, she took out her doctor's bag and tweezers.

"Why do you do that?"

The Courier looked up to her companion's face, which was now covered in sweat. She gave him a perplexed look.

"Do what?"

"You keep almost swearing, then you stop."

Layla frowned, wondering if he was getting delirious. She pulled a bottle out of her bag marked 'medicinal whiskey' and looked back at the man.

"I… Well, we just met the other day. Normally I'm don't swear that much… usually just when I get hurt. Anyway, I don't like swearing in front of people until I get to know them." She gave him a smile. "Didn't know if you'd get offended."

Boone grunted a laugh, then winced. "Not that delicate."

"Why are you asking about this right now?" the Courier asked while quickly wiping down her tools with the whiskey.

"Field medic always said to talk when you're getting worked on. Better to think about something besides the pain."

The girl winced as she checked her chem pouch one last time. It was just as empty as when she first looked.

"Boone…" He looked at her as she spoke. "I don't have any Med-X… The bullet's gotta come out." She offered the whiskey bottle, which he took with his left arm. Taking a pull, he handed the bottle back, then watched, slightly bemused, as the Courier drank as well. She coughed, then picked up her tweezers.

"Here we go…"

The bullet had shattered, and she started pulling the first piece out. He grunted, and Layla tried to think of something to talk to him about while she moved to the next piece.

"You ever been to New Reno?"

"Yeah," he grunted.

"You know the Golden Globes Studio?" She pulled out another metal shard. Judging by the look he was giving her, he wasn't thinking about the pain anymore.

"I stupidly agreed to a date with a guy. Thought he was Gods' gift to women. He could have given Fantastic a run for his money. He thought he'd impress me by taking me to where he worked. Well, guess where he worked: at a porn studio." Another hunk of bullet out.

"So, he brings me in. Now, up to this point I had no clue what the place was. It became abundantly clear very quickly…" Layla bit her lip as she found the next piece. It was jagged and dug in deep. She gently starting pulled back the tissue around it.

"Well, he tells me he was the headliner in 'Pokahotass 23: Goin' down on James' town.' I was skeptical. I mean, he was a looker, but he didn't look like he had the endurance for that kind of work." She got the jagged piece out and moved on. There weren't many left.

"I wasn't about to ask for proof, and I think the weasel knew it. So he keeps bragging about it, loudly. Why he thought it would work on me was beyond me… but he kept on it." Only one piece left now, and she gently starting pulling it free.

"Well, one of the directors wanders by and overhears him and sets me straight. Turns out the guy was a fluffer, and not a very good one. So I left and never trusted lookers with low endurance again."

The last piece was out, which meant all that was left was to clean the wound. Digging out one of cleaner rags, she doused it in whiskey. Boone's eyes followed the rag, then looked up to the Courier's face.

"Deep breath," she said, giving him a sympathetic look and taking his left hand in hers. She gave it a squeeze and shoved the alcohol-soaked cloth into the wound. He didn't make any noise, but his grip tightened. Pulling the cloth away, she released his hand and grinned at him.

"So, who wants good news?" He looked even paler than before, but nodded. She grabbed a few stimpaks from her bag. "No broken bones. Your lung wasn't punctured. Your Pectoralis minor got pretty messed up, but we'll have that patched up quick. There's gonna be some scarring…"

He didn't look too concerned, so Layla injected the first stimpak into his shoulder. After the second, she pressed the wound closed with another clean rag as the medical wonders of the stimpak worked their magic. A few moments later, she peeked under the cloth and found the wound closed.

"How's it feel?" She leaned back so he could sit up. Moving the arm slowly, he winced but nodded.

"Better."

"Good. I'm sure it's going to be stiff and sore for a while. Want another drink?" When he shook his head, she started cleaning and stowing her gear. By the time she had finished, Boone had taken the shirt off one of the dead mercs and pulled it on.

"Well, that's a lot easier when you're doing it to someone else instead of yourself…" She smiled at her companion.

"Thanks…" Boone said, sounding slightly uncomfortable.

She waved off the gratitude.

"Let's find somewhere to stop for the night." The sniper nodded, and they both stood and started walking. They were quiet for a few moments, then Boone spoke up.

"Was any of that true?"

"What? Oh God no. Well, I've been to New Reno, but no one could give Fantastic a run for his money."

*.*.*

Layla looked at the campfire, which was now blazing. She smiled at her handiwork and looked over to her companion, who was scanning the area.

"What do you want for dinner?"

He looked at her in surprise. Layla kept a grin from splitting her face. Her mother had once told her the fastest way to a man's heart was his stomach, and in her experience, it went double for soldiers. She poked through her ingredient bags.

"I've got enough to make a desert salad… but I'm going to have to use gecko. You eat gecko?" She looked back to her companion, who nodded. "Good. Give me an hour and we'll eat."

Boone kept looking around the area, mindful of danger. He did occasionally watch what Layla was up to. She found she was actually quite happy to be cooking for someone else.

Layla eventually gave the food a last mix and looked up to inform her companion it was done. She started when she found him a lot closer than she'd thought he was. He took a plate, mumbling his thanks and sat against a rock across from her.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, and Layla thought about the sniper sitting across from her, trying to decide if she trusted him. It wouldn't be long until she'd need some sleep, which meant giving him the chance to horribly murder her if he wanted to. She grinned suddenly.

"Hey, Boone." He looked up from his dinner. "If you were going to betray me, how would you do it?"

He hadn't been expecting that question, clearly. For a moment, Layla thought he was angry, but he look at her thoughtfully.

"Shoot you in the back on the road." He went back to his dinner. Layla's grin turned wicked.

"How boring. See, I'd poison you."

The sniper stopped in mid-chew and looked at his companion. When he glanced back at his half-eaten plate of food, she burst out laughing.

"Ha ha! Oh man, I should be evil. That would have been hilarious," she giggled. "Let's go back to Helios One. We can activate the ARCHIMEDES and hold the Mojave hostage." He gave her a blank look and went back to his food.

"You're no fun." The Courier went back to dinner. A few moments later, she glanced over to Boone again and found him looking mournfully at his finished plate.

Taking pity, she dug through her bag again, tossing him one of her precious remaining Fancy Lad cakes. He readily tore into it, then leaned back into the rock he was against, the closest to content she'd seen him so far. Finishing her own plate, she tossed it near the fire, planning on cleaning up later.

She leaned against her rock as well, blinking at the setting sun. She closed her eyes a moment. When she opened them, the moon was overhead and the fire was burning low. For a moment, she panicked, looking around and going for her gun. The girl noticed Boone look her way, eyebrow raised.

She blushed a little, holstering her gun. "I must have... How long was I out?" She shook her head and looked at the Pip-Boy on her arm. It had been seven hours. She usually slept five. She breathed out a curse and looked over to her companion apologetically.

"The night's almost over. I'm so sorry. You should have woken me up." Layla looked back up to find Boone shrugging.

"I don't sleep much anymore."

The Courier sighed, standing and stretching.

"Well, go ahead and get some rest anyway. You're no good to me if you fall asleep mid-step," she said lightly. She heard him snort as he lied down on the bedroll. Layla busied herself cleaning up the plates, occasionally looking over to her companion. She had to rate the trip at 'pretty good' as she had woken up unharmed after being completely at his mercy for several hours. It probably wasn't an overly accurate test of character, but it was good enough for her.

Replacing the dishes in her pack, she pulled out a sarsaparilla and started working the cap off with her knife. The resulting hiss from the carbonation was louder than she had hoped, and she saw Boone violently sit up, hands going for his gun as he looked around for danger. When his eyes fell on her and the bottle in her hands, she gave him a weak smile.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. He stared at her for a minute, and she bit her lip. "Go back to sleep. I'll be quiet." He gave her another moment of glare before lying back down, grumbling. Layla shook her head and took a drink of her sarsaparilla, looking around the area.

The desert was cold and quiet, with not so much as a bloatfly buzzing around. She lifted her eyes to the stars. That was the best part of the desert; the night sky was amazingly beautiful. Her musing was suddenly interrupted by a groan from her companion.

Startled, the Courier stood, moving toward the sniper to see if he was hurt. She came up short as she got closer. He was still asleep. Taking a step back, she watched him, worried. A few moments later he groaned in his sleep again and turned. Layla caught the anguished look on his face and closed the distance between them, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey…Boone?" She gave him a tiny shake, and his eyes snapped open. He looked at her for a moment, traces of his dream still fading as he sat up, looking for whatever trouble she'd woken him for. When quiet desert greeted his eyes, he looked back to her, confused and tired.

"I think you were having a nightmare…"

He looked weary when he heard that and lied back down, turning away from her.

"If you wake me up from every one, I'll never get any sleep…" he grumbled.

Layla felt her stomach turn a little. "I uh….sorry." Boone didn't answer, and the girl hoped he'd fallen asleep again. After a few moments of looking at his back, she turned back to the desert, trying not to think about what plagued her companion's sleep.

It wasn't long before Boone started making mumbled sounds of distress again. Layla tried to ignore them, but when he started turning fitfully, her eyes were dragged back his way. She watched, feeling her heart ache as he fought against his dreams. She had managed not to do anything until she heard him mumble his wife's name, his voice full of heartbreak.

The Courier moved closer to her sleeping companion, unsure of what to do. Deciding she couldn't just sit and watch him suffer, she carefully knelt next to him. He turned away from her with another groan, and Layla seized the opportunity to gently rub his back. The moment she touched him, he started, and Layla felt her stomach drop, thinking she'd woken him again. But he mumbled in his sleep again, and the Courier went back to softly stroking his back.

He seemed to relax, and Layla pulled her hand away. He was quiet for a half hour before the nightmares started again. The girl went back to gently rubbing his back or shoulder whenever he sounded distressed, and soon after he'd quiet down.

So she kept watch over him, wondering briefly if what she was doing was ethical. She couldn't deny that he probably wouldn't be happy with her if he knew she'd been touching him without his permission. But after the first two hours of on-and-off nightmares, he seemed to calm completely.

He only ended up sleeping another two hours, but they were untouched by fitful dreams. Layla made sure she was on the other side of their campsite by the time he started waking, looking as innocent as possible as she started breakfast. She didn't want him angry with her. Especially since she planned on continuing to secretly comfort him while he slept.

*.*.*

"What a disgrace to be defeated so easily by so few…" Armand said, sifting through bullet casings.

"They've been searched…" Delmar, the newest Frumentarius recruit said, turning over the headless body he'd been looking at.

"That may have been later scavengers," Vulpes Inculta replied. The forward raiding camp south of Novac had been attacked days ago, but it looked like no one had touched it since. Normally, it'd be the task of more junior Legionaries to discover those responsible for the attack, but Vulpes had been in the area and chose to oversee the investigation personally. It wasn't until he found the Nipton lottery tickets that a suspicion started growing in his mind.

"Blood Moon returns, sir," Delmar called as one of the veteran scouts crested the hill to the camp.

"What have you found?" Vulpes asked as he approached.

The veteran bowed before speaking.

"There is a stir in Novac. Their night sniper has left the town with a stranger. No other information of interest."

"The stranger… what did they look like?" His suspicion was growing.

"Female, small, dark hair, possibly a vault dweller."

"She had a Pip-Boy?"

"Yes."

It was the girl who'd stumbled onto Nipton just as he'd finished with it. Apparently she'd taken a different route than Inculta had suggested by spreading the word of the Legion.

"And the man?"

"Former NCR sniper." That would explain a lot of it. Vulpes found himself slightly disappointed. He'd thought the girl a coward. If he had known she wouldn't do as he asked, he could have found other uses for her. It was all the same; Caesar had standing orders that anyone who opposed their efforts were to be put to death.

"Send word to the assassins," Vulpes called to Delmar. "By Caesar's will they are marked for death."


	4. Sunrise Serenade

The Courier seemed to be in much better spirits now than when they had started traveling together. Boone figured it was because they were getting along much better. When it came to fighting, however, there were still issues. The girl was great at shooting from the hip, but that was all. Whenever she was surprised, her first shot almost always hit its mark. After that, her results weren't nearly as impressive. He'd been thinking about how to best utilized her in a fight; Layla was good with strategy, but in the thick of combat, she was unsure at best.

But that seemed to be only a minor problem as things continued. Trusting her wasn't something Boone had expected, but she hadn't killed him in his sleep and she hadn't poisoned him, so he was convinced. He had to admit to himself that he had made some huge leaps of faith with Layla, but he hadn't had a real meal in so long, he'd have taken poison over another cold can of Cram.

"So one of the books Ignacio gave me was an old science textbook," Layla said as they walked. "Pre-war people were awful careful about mentioning anything sex related. You'd think a book on the human body would mention all the parts. I'm pretty sure it was meant for younger kids, but if you're not comfortable telling them everything, why not just wait until they're older? Have them learn about the solar system or something." Since becoming comfortable with Boone, she had barely stopped talking. It had started that morning, first with relevant questions. _How's the arm feel? Does that look edible? Was that gecko breathing fire?_ But as time had gone by, she just talked about whatever came to mind.

"Speaking of space, did I tell you about space suit the Bright Brotherhood gave me?" she asked. He shook his head. "Well, it's way too big for me… Might be your size though."

Boone wondered if he'd eventually find her never-ending talk annoying, but as it continued, he found it oddly comforting. It was nice to have a constant reminder that someone was there with him. The girl also had a vast repertoire of entertaining, if not always useful, information.

Up ahead, he spotted an NCR flag flapping in the morning breeze. Camp Forlorn Hope was just over the next hill. As the camp came into view, Layla's talking came to a halt. Boone understood why; the place gave off an air of misery.

When they reached the entrance, the guard on duty half-raised his gun in their direction. He quickly lowered it, apparently not considering them a threat.

"You might as well keep going. You're not going to find much help here," the man said. He sounded like he hadn't slept in days. Layla gave the man a sympathetic look.

"Are you okay?"

The soldier gave her a weary look. "I've been pulling double shifts all week. Things are bad here. We're all just waiting for the Legion attack that'll put us out of our misery."

The Courier seemed taken aback by how candid the soldier was. She frowned, then pulled open her bag.

"Well, you just hang in there, help has arrived!" she said, pulling out a box of gumdrops. She tossed it to the trooper, who caught it and gave her a confused look.

"You looked like you could use some sugar." She smiled sweetly at him as she started into the camp, "See you around!" The man looked Boone's way, and he merely shrugged. As the sniper followed the Courier, he glanced back to see the guard shoving gumdrops into his mouth.

"This place could use a morale boost," Layla murmured to Boone as he caught up to her. "Even the sky looks depressed."

A soldier with the name 'STONE' stenciled on his shirt gave them a baleful look as he walked past, muttering about the Mojave heat. Most of the soldiers they came across seemed either annoyed or indifferent to their presence.

"I guess we should find whoever's in charge… Maybe they could use some independent contra-"

Her voice cut off with a small strangled noise. Boone followed her gaze to the large graveyard just outside of the main camp. There had to be more than a hundred graves here. There couldn't be that many people left in the whole camp.

Boone let out a breath through his teeth; he had heard stories of this place. He had no idea it was this bad, though. Glancing Layla's way, he found her looking slightly shell-shocked. After a moment, her face hardened and she started walking down the path again.

"Where would the commanding officer be?" She asked.

"There," he said pointing to what would be the command tent. "They might not be too happy with an unknown civilian wandering in…"

Before he could finish, she was already opening the flap and marching in. Inside, several officers were milling around, going over plans and reports. Most of them looked up when the two civilians entered.

The Courier approached one of the soldiers. "You in charge here?"

"I'm Major Polatli," he answered. Boone was a little surprised she'd picked out the commanding officer so easily. None of the soldiers kept their rank visible, a usual precaution against snipers in hot zones.

"If you're not here to help, stay out of the way," Polatli continued. "Things are pretty bad here, and the Legionaries at Nelson are making it worse."

"We're here to help," Layla said. Polatli looked a little confused.

"Are you traders?" he asked impatiently.

"We could trade if that's what you need," she began. "Or-"

"All right. Go see the quartermaster. Maybe you can help with our supply problem."

Soon they were on their way to the supply tent. Boone was sure the Major had just been trying to get rid of them. He was a little surprised they hadn't been immediately thrown out.

Entering the supply tent, Boone found himself face-to-face with Quartermaster Mayes. The officer squinted at the sniper for a moment, then seemed to recognize him.

"Boone? What are you doing here?"

"Do you two know each other?" Layla said, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Yeah, I know Boone," Mayes said. "You look… different." There was some mild concern in his tone which Boone chose to ignore. He had last seen Mayes at the battle of Hoover Dam, which had been two lifetimes ago. Even back then, Mayes had been a hard ass.

Layla cleared her throat. Mayes looked back her way as she spoke, "So… we came to see if there was any way we could help out. Major Polatli mentioned a supply problem?"

Mayes didn't look happy at first, but relented under the girl's insistent stare. "Well, all right. I'm not sure what you can do, but I think Boone at least could handle some reconnaissance. I sent some of our soldiers to pick up a supply shipment from Helios One. They haven't come back. Maybe they were just delayed, maybe they ran into trouble."

Layla looked over to Boone with concerned eyes. He returned her look before answering the quartermaster. "We just came from Helios One. We didn't pass any soldiers on the way."

Shaking his head Mayes sighed. "See if you can find out what happened."

*.*.*

"Oh no…" Layla rushed over to the closest of the fallen troopers she had spotted. There were crates of supplies and the bodies of three men strewn about the small valley. It looked like they'd been caught in an ambush. "They're all dead…" The girl looked sick as she began gathering their dog tags.

Looking at the scene, Boone felt his hands start going for his rifle of their own accord. Something wasn't right about this. The largest of the supply crates sat conspicuously in the center of the scene, and he opened it to find food, ammo and stims all untouched. No one would go through the trouble of ambushing soldiers and leave this behind.

He detected movement out of the corner of his eye and reacted instinctively. "Get down!" he shouted to Layla as he turned. Sure enough, two Legionaries sprung up from the bushes at the edge of the valley. He immediately put a round between the eyes of one of the ambushers, then heard more gunfire and turned in Layla's direction. The Courier was shooting at another Legionary who was charging in from the opposite direction.

Footsteps behind him telegraphed the approach of the second Legionary. Boone ducked under an incoming machete and slammed his rifle butt into his attacker's face, staggering him. Bringing his rifle to bear, he fired point-blank into the man's throat. The remaining Legionary was still trading shots with Layla when Boone put him down with two shots to the chest. He rejoined the Courier, who was frowning at the dead men that surrounded them.

"Bastards," she growled, giving the Legionary at her feet a hard kick. She took a last look at the NCR soldiers, then at the supply crate.

"That thing looks really heavy," she sighed. Boone merely nodded, and they each grabbed one end of the crate.

*.*.*

Major Polatli looked at them in surprise when they returned to him after delivering the supplies to the quartermaster. Boone figured he hadn't expected to see them again. A faint smile formed on the Major's face as Layla gave him the same earnest look while waiting for him to give her something else to do.

"We're planning on taking back Nelson once we in better shape. Stick around long enough, and maybe you can help. For now, it's getting late… Go rack up in one of the barracks, and we'll find you something to do tomorrow."

The barracks were surprisingly empty, save one soldier. The dark-haired man stood as they entered and walked their way.

"Hey there. You're the ones Major Polatli okayed to sleep here, right?" When Layla nodded, he smiled and held a hand out. "Private Sexton."

The Courier smiled, shaking his hand. "Layla. He's Boone." She nodded in the sniper's direction.

"Well, the Major says you're welcome here as long as you like." The private showed them to a pair of lockers, and Boone gladly deposited his heavy pack. Once they were done here, he'd suggested they go up to the 188 trading post and finally unload all those damned batteries. As he stowed their supplies, Layla and Sexton continued their conversation.

"You're in charge of morale? That's some job here." Layla smiled. Boone noticed the change in her body language and figured she didn't want him hovering around. Instead he found an empty cot and started cleaning his rifle, trying to ignore the pair.

"It's tough to keep everyone motivated in a place like this," said Sexton. "But, I hear you're helping around camp though. Beautiful women with hearts of gold aren't the kind of visitors we've been getting lately."

Layla giggled. "I don't usually have cute soldiers with silver tongues flattering me either." There was a pause before she continued. "So what are you doing to cheer everyone up?"

"I've actually got a competition planned. We're going to see who can get the most Legion kills. Wanna join?"

That piqued Boone's interest, but he made no sign of it as he began disassembling his gun. It was hard not to overhear the two, as they were only a few feet away in the cramped room.

"What do we have to do?"

"Every Legionary you kill, take an ear," he answered. "One per kill."

"Augh," Layla sounded amused and disgusted at the same time. "Why the ear?"

"'Legion Ear,' get it?"

There was a moment of silence before Layla started laughing loudly. "That's the worst joke I've ever heard!"

The private laughed with her. "Yeah, well, sometimes terrible puns are the most effective. So… interested?" Boone thought about quickly reassembling his rifle and going for a walk. The way the other two sounded, he was going to be a very awkward third wheel soon. He glanced up their way and saw Layla grinning mischievously.

"Severed ears aren't my thing." Layla said. "But sign me up. Tell the boys they'll have their work cut out beating me and Boone."

"I'll put you on the board." Another pause then, "So… would you like to go for a walk? Get some air?" Boone almost had his gun reassembled. He held back a grumble as he started pulling the weapon apart again. At least the guy didn't want to put on a show for him.

"I need to get some sleep… but maybe next time," Layla said sweetly.

"I'll be waiting," Sexton said as the girl started for the bunks.

Boone found himself a little surprised she hadn't taken the private up on his offer. But it wasn't any of his business. She climbed up to the bunk above him and stuck her head over the edge, looking down at him. Boone couldn't help but grin faintly at her.

"Is that what you meant by 'boosting morale?'" he said. The girl's eyes widened before she narrowed them at him.

"Shut up. You're fired."

"You never hired me."

"Well… I'm not giving you any more of my snack cakes, mister." Her head disappeared back over the cot and he heard her settling in. "Oh God, beds are so much better than rocks and sand."

The sniper continued cleaning the individual pieces of his rifle, a grin trying to tug at his mouth. Soon the girl was snoring above him.

*.*.*

"Do you have any medical training?" Dr. Richard's asked Layla as they stood in the medical tent. Polatli had sent them the doctor's way once he heard the Courier had medical experience. A patrol had been ambushed earlier in the day and the doctor was swamped.

"Training? Not really," she answered. "Experience? Yes." Boone swung a look in her direction, she grinned innocently at him. "What? I've read plenty of textbooks. It's kinda hard to get into the good medical schools around here."

Dr. Richard's didn't seem too concerned about where her abilities had come from. "Good. I've got my hands full with the soldiers coming through. If you could help me process injuries as they come in, I'd appreciate it."

Layla had been raring to go, and soon she was diving head-first into the nearly constant stream of wounded that came into the tent. At first, Boone stood by, feeling useless as the Courier bandaged wounds and stitched cuts. Not long into the morning, she had him running around getting her supplies. By afternoon, she'd dubbed him 'Nurse Boone,' despite the warning glares he'd given her.

As the day went on, Layla had to fight to keep her cheerful demeanor. It wasn't until she had to perform a double amputation that she finally started cracking. The man's leg and arm were mangled and gangrenous. Even Boone's untrained eye could see how bad the damage was, and Layla's face was hard as stone as she asked him to get her a bone saw.

After she'd finished stabilizing him, she'd gone outside for a break. Boone found her sitting against the support bar of the tent's wall. She gave him a tired smile that looked forced.

"You okay?" he asked. The Courier sighed, rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"Yeah. Never had to do that before…" She gave him a hard-to-read look. "Promise me you'll never get so injured I have to amputate anything off you."

He merely looked at her. The way he expected things to go for him, he didn't want to lie. His lack of response didn't seem to help the girl's mood, and she sagged against the pole again. He didn't know what to say, so they stayed that way for a while before a group of soldiers came their way, carrying an unconscious, heavily bleeding man.

Layla darted to her feet and followed them in. By the time Boone entered the tent, Layla was removing shrapnel from the injured man's torso. She looked slightly panicked as he approached.

"Boone! Go find my bag. There's a super stimpak in it!"

He left without a word, nearly bowling over a few troopers on his way to the barracks. He burst into the room, making several soldiers jump. Not bothering to explain, he pulled the Courier's bag out of her locker and started digging through it.

Soon he was putting the super stimpak in her outstretched hand. By the way she rapidly applied the meds to the man, and the fact she hadn't thanked 'Nurse Boone,' the sniper figured he had barely made it in time. Checking the man's pulse, Layla nodded to herself and finished pulling the shrapnel from the trooper. Soon he was bandaged, and the Courier looked relieved, if not exhausted.

"Great job," Dr. Richards said as he inspected the recovering man. "I couldn't have done any of this better myself." The stream of wounded soldiers had finally slowed, and the doctor looked just as tired as Layla.

"Glad to be of help," she answered, smiling exhaustedly.

All three of them sat in silence for a few moments before Layla eventually broke the silence.

"So, what's a nice guy like you doing in a crappy place like this?"

Richards laughed. "I got duped into serving my country. Now I just want to go home." He looked over to the girl. "I've seen more in the last few years than I ever thought possible. The battle at the Dam was particularly bad."

"The Dam?" Layla said, sounding curious. "Tell me about it."

"Well, long story short: The Legion made a move to take Hoover Dam, which would have given them control of the Mojave, and the NCR held them back. The Legion probably would have won if it hadn't been for the Rangers and 1st Recon. The Rangers lured the main force into Boulder City and blew it to hell. Meanwhile, 1st Recon kept the officers at bay. They were the only battalion who held their position."

He gestured towards Boone as he mentioned 1st Recon, and the sniper saw Layla look in his direction, clearly impressed. Richards looked weary for a moment.

"I saw plenty of things I wish I could forget during and after that battle." He gave the girl a meaningful look, and she frowned back. The Courier looked even more tired than she had before.

"Well, I guess you're in a little better shape now, huh?"

"Definitely, thanks to you. Now, why don't you get some rest? This is the best shape we've been in for quite a while." Layla began gathering her things and walking out of the tent. "The only thing left is finding out who's stealing my medical supplies," the doctor finished.

Boone nearly ran into Layla as she stopped mid-stride.

"_What_?"

*.*.*

The Courier was having trouble keep her eyes opened. Boone had offered to stay up and stake out the medical tent alone, letting her get some sleep. She'd refused to leave. The chem thief seemed to have gotten under her skin.

At first, the girl had paced and fidgeted. Eventually she settled down, sitting by the trooper she'd removed the shrapnel from. The man's sleep had been restless, even while sedated, and the girl gently stroked his arm as she watched him.

They settled into a comfortable silence. Boone caught Layla nodding off occasionally; the long day was clearly starting to wear on her. He was about to suggest she stretch out on one of the empty cots when he heard the sound of boots crunching the gravel outside the tent.

Boone quickly moved over to the dark corner where the Courier sat. She looked at him, confused, and he nodded to the door. Layla's eyes narrowed, and she stood, giving her wounded charge's arm one last gentle pat. A few moments later, a soldier quietly slid into the tent, not even looking in their direction as he made his way to the medicine locker.

Layla waited for the man to start rifling through the locker before moving closer. When she was directly behind him, she cleared her throat. The man jumped at the noise and turned, eyes wide. It was Private Stone.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Boone was mildly surprised at the venom in Layla's voice. The private was caught off guard as well, crumbling almost instantly.

"I…I need this… You've seen this place. There's no hope for us. We're all going to die. All my friends are dead. I watched them all get butchered. All I wanted was a release… Is that so bad?"

The Courier looked unimpressed. "What about the injured people who actually need those drugs?"

Stone hung his head. "I… didn't think about that." He looked at wounded soldiers in the tent for a moment, then back to her. "I'm sorry, okay? I'll stop. So… now what?"

"Now, you turn yourself in…"

"What?" He looked horrified. "Why would I do that?"

"It'll look a lot better than if I do it." The venom was back, and Stone paled.

"All right… I'll do it."

Not very much later, the private was in the care of the camp's MP's, and Layla looked like she was asleep on her feet. Boone gently guided her to the barracks, letting her take the lower bunk. She fell asleep the instant she hit the cot.

As Boone climbed into the upper bunk, he thought about the girl snoring below him. She had worked herself ragged for twenty hours with no expectation of reward, just because someone needed her help. Behavior like that was rare in the wastes. It ingratiated you to people at the same time it painted you as a target. As he drifted to sleep, he wondered briefly what he'd gotten himself into.

*.*.*

The next day, after helping Dr. Richards in the morning, Layla had made her way to one of the guard posts to take a look around. Boone stayed below, occupied with his own thoughts. Part of him wondered what he was doing and why he had even joined the Courier in the first place. But they were doing good, helping the NCR and taking shots at the Legion. That was what he wanted, right? He could hear her talking with the soldier on guard duty, the murmur of their conversation occasionally broken up by laughter.

"Hey Boone?" She sounded suddenly concerned.

"What?"

"Come take a look… I can't make out what I'm seeing here."

The sniper made his way up the ramp and found the girl squinting into a pair of binoculars. The woman on guard duty gave the Courier an impressed look.

"I wish I had a 1st Recon guy looking after me," she said.

Layla smirked at the soldier.

"He definitely has his uses, though he eats like a starved brahmin." She then addressed the sniper. "Come on, take a look… There's something out there." She pointed to a shape in the distance.

Boone drew his rifle and looked through the scope. Hoping to spot a Legionary, he sucked in a breath when he saw what the Courier had pointed out.

"What is it?" she asked, sounding worried. She must have picked up on his distress.

"It's a wounded soldier. Looks like he's lost a leg… probably a land mine."

"Oh crap. Come on, let's get him back here." She dropped her pack, only stopping to dig out her doctor's bag before taking off. Boone ran after her, watching out for more mines as they made their way toward the soldier.

As they got closer, Boone could tell something wasn't right. Even from several feet away, he could tell the man was already dead. A second later, a small red flash alerted him to something shoved under the body. An active land mine. Layla had just entered it's active range. With no time to warn her, he barreled into her, shoving them both past the body and over the ridge beyond it.

The ridge led to a ravine, and they tumbled down and away from the mine as it exploded. By the time they came to a stop, they were being pelted with bits of rock and sand. Boone looked down to find Layla giving him a confused look.

"What just happened?"

"The Legion will booby trap wounded soldiers to take out medics…"

Layla winced, and they untangled from each other and stood. They had ended up in a deep ravine surrounded by large boulders. Boone didn't like the look of those rocks. Something definitely wasn't right, and he saw Layla look his way as he reached for his gun.

"Wha-"

She didn't get the chance to finish as three Legionaries appeared at the top of the ridge.

"By the order of Caesar, you have been marked for death!" said the Decanus leading the group.

Boone already had his rifle in his hands and was taking aim when he heard Layla cry out. Two more assassins had snuck up behind them. One had caught the girl by the arm as she drew her pistol. The Legionary twisted her arm at an unnatural angle, making her drop the 10mm with a pained cry.

Boone turned to bring his rifle to bear on the second group, but caught movement in the corner of his eye. He turned to see another Legionary leap out at him from behind a nearby rock, machete swinging. He jumped back, but wasn't able to completely dodge the blow, receiving a large gash down his abdomen.

Ignoring the explosion of pain, he shot the man in the head, then turned to the group on the ridge and fired, hitting the Decanus in the throat. Two more shots finished that group.

That left him with one shot and two Legionaries, one still holding Layla by the arm. He turned her toward Boone, twisting her arm further and making her cry out.

"Frumentarius Inculta sends his regards," the man said to Layla, who paled further. She visibly collected herself and swung her head back as hard as she could, catching the Legionary in the nose. The soldier released the Courier as his hands moved to cover his bleeding face. Boone put his last round through the man's left eye.

The last of the assassins had drawn an auto 9mm and aimed it Boone's way. He'd never be able to dodge or reload in time. Bracing himself for the coming rain of bullets, he was surprised to hear the first shot come from his right.

Layla held her old modified 10mm in her uninjured left hand and fired at the Legionary. It took all fourteen rounds in the clip, but she downed the man before he got the chance to turn his weapon on her.

"That… That was bad," Layla said between gasped breaths. Boone couldn't help but nod, looking down at the gash on his abdomen. An inch further and he'd have had to hold his intestines in place. The Courier held her hurt arm against herself, still looking at the man she'd shot.

"We'd better go back and get patched up…" she said, walking over to the NCR soldier to collect his dog tags. Turning back to Boone, she gasped at something behind him.

Spinning around, he saw what looked like a grenade flash from the camp. The sound of the blast echoed seconds later, followed by the sounds of gunfire. He could make out crimson shapes in the camp. They both took off in a run, reloading as they ran.

Forlorn Hope was in chaos. Dead NCR soldiers were strewn about. Shouts and screams echoed through the camp. Boone caught sight of an MP huddled against the mess hall building and started his way.

"Are you okay?" Layla said as they reached the man. He looked tired, but unharmed.

"I… Yeah. Legion fuckers came out of nowhere."

The Courier nodded, looking around the area. Her eyes came to a stop on the mess hall.

"Okay, Boone, let's get you up on the roof. You can pick them off from there." The sniper nodded. Layla took a few steps back to get a better look at the scrap metal building.

"Yeah, I think it'll hold you," she said. The MP gave him a boost as he climbed onto the shack. The metal squealed in protest, but held.

From his vantage point, he could see at least seven Legionary marauders swarming the base. He started setting up his targets when he heard Layla call to him.

"Start firing as soon as you see them. I'm going to try to get the medical tent to help Richards!"

He opened fire.

*.*.*

"Well great, now they're targeting us…" Layla's tone wasn't pleased as she sat on a cot in the medical tent. The battle hadn't lasted long once Boone had started sniping the Legionaries. The NCR troopers had rallied from his support and took the whole group out quickly. Boone now looked at the injured girl, feeling a small pang of guilt; she had been fearful of the Legion before, and now he'd gotten her targeted by them. Her arm had been dislocated, the tendons pulled too hard. Now it was back in place and in a sling. Boone had stitches going down his stomach and bandages wrapped around his torso.

Dr. Richards wasn't happy that his assistant wasn't going to be able to help him for a while. The casualties had been low from the attack; most of the soldiers had been scattered and confused, but the Legionaries hadn't gotten the chance to thin their ranks before Boone had torn into them. Still, the sudden influx of troopers into the tent had caused a strain on the single doctor's abilities.

"I suppose I should have known you'd get me into trouble," Layla said, giving him a wry grin. Boone found himself frowning at her statement. She was right, but more so than she realized. Suddenly the sniper wondered if it had be a terrible mistake to go with her. On her own, she wouldn't have stood a chance against the Legion, but then maybe she wouldn't have tried. As he dwelled on his unpleasant thoughts, Major Polatli entered the tent.

"Sir!" Richard's saluted him, as did any of the soldiers who could still move their arms. Polatli saluted back, then made his way over to Boone and Layla.

"Good to see you two made it. I was told you were ambushed in the valley." He noted their injuries with a grim look. "Bastards planned this one out well. Most of our lookouts were keeping an eye on your situation when they snuck in."

Layla winced. "Sorry."

Polatli laughed. "Don't apologize." His face grew serious as he regarded both of them. "Are you going to be okay by morning?"

"Yeah, arm's just gotta rest," she answered, then looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

"We're going to hit Nelson tomorrow. This attack had to have strained their numbers. We need to hit them before they've recovered."

Boone looked to Layla, who's face was troubled. He knew the ambush had scared her. There was a good chance she wouldn't want to take part in a direct assault. Her face cleared as she looked back to the Major.

"How can we help?"

Polatli looked conflicted. "I was hoping you'd say that, but if you need rest…"

Layla waved him off. "We'll be up for it, right Boone?" She looked his way and frowned at the grim look he was giving her.

"Oh quit worrying, both of you," she groaned. "I'm fine!"

Polatli relented, holding his hands up. "I can spare enough soldiers now that the camp's in better shape. This is our best opportunity to take Nelson back."

"All right, go rest up," he said as Layla got to her feet. "I'll brief you in the morning."

Layla and Boone followed him out of the tent, then made their way to the barracks. When they got in, they found most of the bunks full and the soldiers looking their way. Their faces were grim, and several had new wounds bandaged.

Layla's face hardened at the sight, then she gathered herself and put a smile on.

"Hey!" Every eye in the room turned her way as she continued. "That pack of douche bags think they can take us in our own camp? Well, we're booting their asses straight out of Nelson tomorrow. Caesar's gonna have to find a new place this side of the Colorado for his boys show off their skirts!"

Most of the soldiers in the room laughed. Some cheered. Grinning, Layla made her way to an empty bunk and climbed to the top. Boone tiredly sat on the bottom bunk, trying to ignore the stinging from his new stitches. A moment later, Layla's head popped over the side, and she gave him a dirty look.

"That's what I meant by boosting morale."

Boone shook his head, amused. The smile that had been threatening him died as she settled into the bed. They might get killed trying to take the town back, and it would be his fault if anything happened to her.

* * *

Well, that was certainly a long one, huh? I hope you enjoyed it! Tune in Saturday for the conclusion!

I have to thank my editor again for this chapter, it was a monster to get together.


	5. Boom Shot

When Layla woke up the next morning, her shoulder was in agony. She lied still in bed, wondering what time it was. Dragging her Pip-Boy to her still focusing eyes, she noted it was just after six. The room sounded empty as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Lowering herself from her bunk, she found herself unsurprised that Boone's bed was empty.

He had probably gone out to PT with the rest of the troopers, like he'd done yesterday. The Courier hadn't called him nuts, but she sure thought it. Stretching as best she could with her injured arm, she wondered what they'd get into today.

Then she remembered she'd volunteered to attack a heavily fortified Legion camp. The realization felt like a punch to the chest. Looking around again, she confirmed she was alone. It was the first time she'd been alone since she'd left Novac. This was her best opportunity to take stock of what she was doing, no one to distract or influence her.

Had the Layla of a few months ago heard that she was planning a frontal assault on a dangerous enemy's base, she'd laugh. All the time she'd wandered, she'd avoided danger and talked her way through trouble. She wasn't very good with a gun and worse with explosives, so avoiding trouble was the only sensible idea.

Goodsprings and Primm crossed her mind though; it had been monumentally stupid to take on an entire gang, but she'd done it. Twice. Chewing her lip, she realized she'd taken some stupid risks since… she'd been shot in the head. The itchy wound was nearly healed, but that didn't mean there was lasting damage. Maybe the important part of her brain that kept her from doing stupid things had been hit.

Or maybe she'd realized that avoiding trouble didn't always protect you from it. She'd been minding her own business when she'd been ambushed by Benny and the Khans. Platinum Chip aside, she certainly hadn't been doing anything to invite the attack. It had all happened anyway.

Layla began pacing the length of the room. What was she doing? She wasn't a fighter, not by a long shot. She would have been dead five or six times over in the last few days if it hadn't been for Boone. There was still time to tell Polatli she couldn't make it to Nelson. The Major had seemed reluctant to let her go. He'd understand that she wasn't ready for it.

But then what? Walk away, let the huge graveyard in the camp grow? Let the whole base get overrun? Add another feather in the Legion's stupid caps and let them advance further west of the Colorado? Boone would probably give up on her too, and then she'd have no backup. It'd be life like before, dodging trouble until it caught her anyway.

Her eyes had fallen on the 'Legion Ear' board. 'Layla & Boone' were at the bottom of the list, but in first place. She'd sent Boone to get ears off the group that had ambushed the supply shipment. That and the camp attack had put them pretty far in the lead. She stared at the board for a moment, then looked around for the chalk.

Picking it up, she scratched 'Nurse' above Boone's name and grinned. He'd be mad when he saw it; sometimes he was too easy to tease. Layla looked a the names at the chart again. These were people she knew now. She wasn't going to let them all die because she was a coward.

The door to the barracks opened, and she turned. Boone stepped in, scanning the room for her. She noted the mild concern on his face, and wondered if he thought she'd run for it. He spotted her and walked over.

"Hey."

"Hey," she replied. "How's your gut?"

"Itchy. How's your arm?"

Layla tested it by rotating it slightly. It stung, but not nearly as much as before. "Not too bad. Should be good to go in a few hours, I think."

The sniper nodded, then suddenly frowned. Layla followed his line of sight to the Ear Chart and suddenly remembered she was still holding the chalk. He was glaring at her now, and started to open his mouth to speak.

Not wanting to give him the chance, she threw the chalk over her shoulder and hooked her uninjured arm in his, pulling him to the door.

"Let's go find out about that mission!"

He allowed himself to be dragged away, glaring at her the whole time.

*.*.*

"So you're the Courier Polatli's conned into this," Sergeant Cooper said, shaking Layla's hand. The girl laughed.

"More like I had to twist his arm to let me go. Boone's the one who got dragged along." She shot a wry grin at the sniper, who didn't respond.

There were another six troopers scattered around them, preparing for the assault. Layla had no clue if these were the kind of numbers they usually sent to reclaim a town, but she figured it'd be enough. Hell, Boone alone could probably take care of it. Yes, she was confident this would work out.

As she came to this conclusion, she had to tamp down on the part of her mind that was insistently telling her she was going to die horribly because those Legion monsters would be ready for them. The attack the night before had left her a lot more shaken than she'd expected. She had felt the panic from Nipton returning, though being surrounded by soldiers and Boone had calmed her a lot quicker than stumbling around the Viper-filled area near Nipton had.

Glancing over to the sniper, she saw he'd already donned his business grimace. When his eyes caught hers, he gave her a nod. The Courier was pretty sure he knew she was freaking out a little, even if she was giving the air of calm confidence to the NCR troopers.

"Well, let's go get this shebang going," she said. Cooper nodded and gestured to his troops.

"This is it? Shouldn't we have more people for this?" said one of the troopers, a nervous man named Jenkins. "They've got the whole town."

"Can it, Jenkins! Now move!" Cooper barked, and the group started for Nelson. As they crested the first hill, Boone called to them.

"Stop." Layla, Cooper and the troopers all froze.

"What?" the Courier said, not seeing anything. The word had barely left her mouth when five Legionaries appeared, circling the group. Each was armed with a 9mm submachine gun. Boone had managed to shoot one, popping off the top of his head before the group attacked.

Boone's warning had given the soldiers enough time to pull their weapons. Cooper had one down by the time Boone had finished off another. Layla shot one off Cooper's back with Jenkin's help. When everything was quiet, the Courier looked around. Four Legionaries down before any of them could get a shot off. She was impressed.

_Wait, there were five. _Layla turned to find the last one aiming at her. Just as he was about to fire, a shot cracked and the Legionary stiffened and fell forward. Seeing the bullet wound in his back, she instinctively looked for Boone, but he was standing behind her. So were the NCR soldiers. She was mildly confused until an NCR ranger approached from behind the dead Legionary. He surveyed the group as he slung his rifle on his back.

"Thanks for the assist." Layla smiled at the man. He nodded and introduced himself.

"Ranger Milo. You're the group going down to take back Nelson?" He gave Layla an appraising look, clearly not convinced.

"Well, me, Boone, these guys." She indicated to the soldiers around her. The ranger looked at Cooper and his group, then turned back to Layla to see her grinning at him.

"Room for one more if you're not busy…"

Milo gave her a serious look. "When the Legion took the town, they killed most of the troopers. Dead Sea is the Decanus in charge down there, and he's kept a few of the survivors alive, crucified. I've been trying to get support from patrols in the area, but they won't attack with hostages in the way. The only way to get these soldiers to move is if you take out the hostages so they can't be used as leverage."

"What?" The Courier gave the ranger a perplexed look. He looked at the group assembled with a sneer.

"Listen, these panty waists don't have the guts to attack with their own men held against them. If you want them to do anything, you're going to have to kill the hostages."

Layla saw Boone stiffen next to her as she frowned. "We're here to take out the Legion, not our own troops. If they're still alive, they can be saved."

Milo shook his head at the girl. "You're dumber than you look."

"And you're a bigger coward than _you _look." The other NCR soldiers froze, eyes all turning in their direction. Milo didn't look impressed, however, and turned away.

"Go on, do your thing. I'll clean up your mess later."

Layla didn't bother to keep the sneer off her face as the ranger walked away. Sergeant Cooper and the other soldiers were looking at her in awe.

"Now what?" Jenkins said, sounding a little panicked. "They'll kill them if we charge."

"Listen," Layla's added a tone of authority to her voice. "We're going in there. They might kill the hostages, they might not. They WILL kill them if we don't try to get them out. And better a quick death than hanging on a cross, right?" the men around her all nodded, grim looks on their faces.

"Anyway, I've got a plan…" She turned to Boone, who raised an eyebrow at her.

*.*.*

"Get ready…"

Layla pulled her revolver from its holster, still cursing her lack of 10mm ammo. She'd used the rest of her limited supply shooting the assassin off Boone last night. She checked the time on her Pip-Boy again. Boone should have had enough time to set himself above the ridge of the town as she asked. Not only would they have his cover, but he'd be able to keep the Legionaries off the hostages.

Taking a deep breath, she checked her gun one more time. This was as ready as she was ever going to be. She looked over to Cooper and nodded. He in turn looked at his men.

"Go!" he shouted, and his team started for the encampment while Layla hung back. It didn't take long for the group to get pinned down by fire from two Legionaries in a guard tower. The Courier carefully wound her way around to the ramp leading to the platform. She opened fired on the two men as they had their backs to her, taking one out on her second shot. The other turned and Layla fired again, missing. She burned her remaining three shots and only managed to nick the man on the shoulder.

It was about that time she realized she was going to have to hand load her next shots. The Legionary must have figured it as well, as he raised his rifle her way with a grin. Before Layla could enact plan B, which was diving off the tower, a loud crack thundered through the camp and the man's head exploded.

The Courier didn't bother trying to spot Boone on the ridge, but she waved in his general direction as she ran back down the ramp and rejoined Cooper. Together they ran for the main camp.

When they reached the gate, they found several Legionaries waiting for them. One stood on a platform that held three crosses, each with a crucified NCR soldier. The Legionary drew his machete and opened his mouth to address them, but was suddenly muted as another shot from Boone took his throat.

The camp broke into chaos as Legion and NCR forces clashed. Layla did her best to keep up, deciding her best course of action was to keep any of the Legionaries from sneaking up on Cooper. More than once, when she'd take a turn to find a gun or blade in her direction, another crack from Boone's rifle would take out the Legionary before he could act.

Cooper put a round in the last Legionary's face, and the man fell. The camp was suddenly quiet. There was a definite tension in the air, and Layla could feel the hair on her neck stand.

"Where's Dead Sea?" Cooper murmured to her as she joined him. There were a few buildings in the town, but most of their doors had been left open when the Legionaries had spilled out. Their commanding officer had not been among the fighting.

"Maybe he's…" Layla's stomach clenched as she suddenly realized what she would have done had this attack been directed at her. She looked up at the ridge, searching for Boone, who'd been their advantage in this fight. Sure enough, there were three veteran Legionaries surrounding him.

"COOPER!" she cried to the Sergeant, pointing. He looked up the ridge and leveled his rifle at the Legion members. Two shots took out one of the veteran's knees and he crumbled. Boone used the distraction to take out one with his machete, then advanced on the last.

There was a shriek from behind Layla, and she turned in alarm. Jenkins was sinking to the ground, grasping at the machete impaling his abdomen. Around him, new Legion forces ran into the town, surrounding the NCR soldiers. The blade was ripped from Jenkins as an imposing Legionary Decanus pointed it at Layla."You are marked for death."

The man calmly stepped over Jenkins as he lay dying and slowly made his way toward Layla. Boone was occupied with the last of the Legionaries who had ambushed him, and Cooper and the rest of the NCR soldiers were trying to take the new surge of Legion forces. The Courier leveled her revolver at Dead Sea, taking the time to aim for once, and fired.

The round caught the man in the shoulder. He staggered back from the force of the shot, but then continued to advance, showing no other reaction. The girl started panicking and kept firing, shots getting more and more erratic as the Decanus kept coming. She was down to her last round as the Legionary got close enough to reach out to her.

The Courier jumped back, stumbling and falling against a piece of wood from a destroyed house. Dead Sea was almost on top of her by the time she'd recovered. Without thinking, she fired her last round. This time, the bullet tore through the man's forehead. He wavered on his feet before falling directly on top of Layla.

The girl tried to squirm out from under the dead Legionary, but he was heavier than he looked. A moment later, someone pulled the body away, and Layla found Boone looking down at her, the worried look on his face dissipating when he found her intact.

"Did we win?" the Courier asked as he helped her up, a little amazed he had gotten to her so quickly.

"Yeah."

"Oh, good." The girl holstered her revolver and scanned the area. It looked like Jenkins was the only casualty. Everyone else was looking her way. She in turn looked to the crucified soldiers.

"Someone help me get them down."

With their combined efforts, they got the first injured man off his cross and lowered him to the ground. Layla was at his side immediately.

"Hey, you're okay now," she said to him soothingly. He wasn't in bad shape; he could stand and seemed alert. "What's your name?"

"Henry," he rasped out. She dug out a bottle of water for him from her pack. He accepted it and drank greedily.

"Well, Henry, I'm Layla. I-"

"You killed Dead Sea," Henry said, a smile forming on his face. "You took back Nelson."

"Well…" Feeling slightly embarrassed, she gestured to the others. "We all did."

Soon the former hostages were resting in the barracks, and The Courier was stitching up a machete wound on Boone's back. She would have just given him a stimpak… if they'd had any. Chewing her lip, she tried to think of how to best approach her next question.

"So, think you'll be coming with me to New Vegas?" Layla had been avoiding this for a while. She had told Boone they'd go after the Legion, not go off to fulfill her duties as a courier. The strip and her answers didn't fit into the sniper's immediate plans, and she couldn't fault him if he didn't want to bother. Even if she really hoped he wouldn't mind.

A frown creased Boone's features as he thought, and Layla braced herself for the rejection. He wouldn't want to go gallivanting off across the Mojave on her harebrained schemes. Maybe it was for the best, anyway.

"Yeah," he answered. Layla looked at him dumbly for a moment.

"…unless you don't want me to…" he continued. She had been staring too long again. She shook her head suddenly, realizing what he thought her silence meant.

"Oh! Oh no, I do want you to come with!" She grinned a little stupider than she had hoped to, and he merely nodded. She surveyed Nelson as NCR troopers began clearing out the Legionary bodies. "I think we make an excellent team. I talk and you shoot. I ask too many questions and you scare everyone away. I don't think the Mojave will be prepared for any of that."

Detecting a slight grin from the sniper, Layla smiled back. The stitches were done, and she cut free the needle. "All set."

"I'm glad you saw there were other options than mercy killing…" the sniper said as she started putting away her equipment. He looked uncomfortable for a moment when the girl turned back to him. "The Legion likes to torture captives in view of NCR positions. Snipers get called on to end it. I've had my share…"

Her face creased in a sympathetic frown. That was a lot of emotional trauma to put their sharpshooters through. He continued without looking at her.

"Sometimes you wonder if they could have been saved. If you killed them by following orders when you could have helped them."

His voice had gotten a little ragged, and Layla had to stop herself from reaching out to him. He'd only sounded like that the last time he'd mentioned his wife's death…

"Boone…" The serious tone of her voice finally made the sniper look her in the eyes. "Tell me what happened to your wife."

Whatever walls he'd put up in his mind, she could almost see them slide away as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"What good will that do? She's dead." His voice sounded almost fragile, and Layla nearly stopped her questioning, worried she was upsetting him too much. But it was worse for him to hold all of his pain in.

"The better we understand each other, the better a team we'll make," she said to him. That didn't even begin to explain why he needed to talk about this. He needed to get it out instead of letting it kill him from inside.

"…All right." He drew in a breath. "I tracked Carla down to one of their bases near the river. They were auctioning off slaves… Hundreds of Legionaries were there, bidding on things no man has the right to."

The Courier grew worried as the rage started to build in his voice. But just as quickly, it turned brittle and anguished.

"It was just me and my rifle. I couldn't get to her. There were too many…" He wasn't looking at anything now, instead staring into space as he continued. "So I took the shot."

Layla drew in a shaky breath. Her chest felt like someone was squeezing all the air out of it. He'd killed his wife, killed his baby, to spare them from lives as Legion slaves. Suddenly, all the awkward silences, all the times he'd been harsh with her made sense. And she was the biggest idiot imaginable.

Looking his way, Layla found him still staring at nothing. She could tell he was seeing it all over again in his mind. This time she did reach out to him, putting a hand on his arm. He started at the touch, then seemed to come out of it a little, looking at her.

"Better that then life as a slave. They would have raised your baby to think their ways were right."

She felt him shudder slightly before he spoke. "The things they do to women… they're worse than death. I didn't have a choice. It was like watching something I couldn't stop."

He sunk down, sitting on the front steps of one of the ruined houses. "I don't have any say in this, I just have to wait until fate's done with me." He wasn't talking about Carla anymore.

"You sound like this was inevitable," Layla said.

"It had to be something. If I'd never met Carla, it would have been something else." He looked up at her, eyes intense. "I've got bad things coming to me. I should never have gotten close to her. You'd better keep your distance too."

Now she was confused. "What do you mean? Why?"

"Fair is fair."

Layla was getting frustrated by his vagueness. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"No." he said simply, looking away. He turned back to her after a moment. "Sorry."

The Courier looked at her companion, still confused. She sighed, deciding she should stop pushing, at least for now. He'd tell her when he was ready, just as he had told her about his wife.

It was suddenly very quiet in the town. Some of the troopers were going back to inform Forlorn Hope's command of their victory. The rest were in the barracks, leaving the two of them alone outside. When Layla looked back to Boone, she found him staring into the space in front of him, face still and pained. She tried to think of something to say, but came up short. Instead, she sat on the stoop next to him, wrapping an arm around him.

He looked at her as she started rubbing his back, then turned his gaze to the darkening sky, silently accepting the comforting gesture. The pair stayed that way for a while, undisturbed by the cooling desert night.

* * *

I hope you've enjoyed this one, I have to say it was a fun to write. Our next installment: 'I Sustain the Wings' will be a little darker and sadder as we finally wind our way to Bitter Springs. Tune in on next Saturday for the first chapter.

Thanks for reading, favoriting, alerting and for all the wonderful reviews. I'm starting to get embarrassed from all this praise, but I will say it pushes me to work harder. That's a pretty good thing, as I've recently been exposed to Minecraft…

Have a good weekend and oh God I hope that rumor about the new DLC in May is true D:


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